FOX 11: Transplant recipient to ride float in Rose Parade Skip to main content Close Select your preferred language English عربى 简体中文 繁體中文 فارسي עִברִית 日本語 한국어 Русский Español Tagalog Menu Close Call 1-800-CEDARS-1 toggle search form Close Los Angeles, 02 January 2020 06:00 AM America/Los_Angeles FOX 11 Transplant recipient encourages others to donate organs ahead of display during Rose Parade Cedars-Sinai double transplant patient Regina Armstrong will ride in the Rose Parade. Photo by Cedars-Sinai. FOX 11 interviewed Cedars-Sinai patient Regina Armstrong about her experience as a double transplant recipient and her plans to ride this year's Donate Life float, sponsored by Cedars-Sinai, in the annual Rose Parade. Armstrong told FOX 11 that she underwent a heart transplant at age 12 after catching a virus that caused cardiomyopathy, which damaged her heart. Her donor was a teenage girl who had died in a car crash. Armstrong never met the girl's family but is grateful for the sacrifice her donor's family made. "I've lived a pretty good life from it," Armstrong told FOX 11. "I was able to marry my high school sweetheart, and I have a son who's 17 years old now." In 2018, after over 30 years of anti-rejection drugs, Armstrong's kidneys were failing and she needed a kidney transplant. She received her transplant a year ago on New Year's Eve from a deceased donor. "I was very blessed for that," Armstrong told FOX 11. "There are no words to express my ultimate gratitude towards them." Today, Armstrong is in good health, and in the lead-up to the Rose Parade, she has been working daily to help decorate her float. She told FOX 11 says she is beyond excited to be a float rider in the parade. Armstrong's message and the message of the Donate Life organization is to encourage organ and tissue donation. "I'm very excited to ride this float it's a huge honor," Armstrong told FOX 11. She told other patients who are waiting for an organ transplant, "Don't give up." Watch the video here. Related Stories RSS feed - Related Stories (opens in new window) View all headlines - Related Stories Cedars-Sinai Lung Transplant Outcomes Rated Outstanding July 13, 2022 06:15 AM America/Los_Angeles A new report on lung transplantation success rates confirms that Cedars-Sinai patients experienced one-year survival outcomes of 91.49%, an achievement above the national average of 89.46%. The data—compiled by the Scientific Registry of Transplant … Read more COVID-19 Immunity Test Inventor It s Not Just About Antibodies July 05, 2022 07:01 AM America/Los_Angeles When it comes to COVID-19 immunity, antibodies do not tell the whole story, according to Cedars-Sinai professor of Medicine Stanley C. Jordan, MD.Jordan should know. As director of the Comprehensive Transplant Center’s Human Leukocyte Antigen and … Read more Cedars-Sinai Transplant Clinicians Earn National Recognition June 14, 2022 13:30 PM America/Los_Angeles Two physician leaders from the Cedars-Sinai Comprehensive Transplant Center have been honored by two prestigious national groups.Irene Kim, MD, director of the Cedars-Sinai Comprehensive Transplant Center, received a Woman of the Year award for … Read more Show previous items Show next items Contact the Media Team Email: [email protected] Contact Soshea Leibler Soshea.Leibler@cshs.org Share this release FOX 11 Transplant recipient encourages others to donate organs ahead of display during Rose Parade Share on: Twitter Share on: Facebook Share on: LinkedIn Search Our Newsroom Social media Visit our Facebook page (opens in new window) Follow us on Twitter (opens in new window) Visit our Youtube profile (opens in new window) (opens in new window) Latest news 07 Oct 2022 - HealthDay: Black Women Less Likely to Get Laparoscopic Fibroid Surgeries 07 Oct 2022 - Faculty Publications: Sept. 29-Oct. 6 07 Oct 2022 - Fine-Tuning Organ-Chip Technology 06 Oct 2022 - KCRW: Want New Omicron Booster? Wait at Least 2 Months After Last Shot 05 Oct 2022 - Cedars-Sinai Schedules Free Flu Vaccine Clinics 04 Oct 2022 - Cedars-Sinai Showcases Hispanic and Latinx Art Newsroom Home